This invention relates to gas-powered guns for firing projectiles of the paintball type.
Paintball guns, which typically are used for target practice and in mock war games, use a pressurized gas source, such as CO.sub.2, nitrogen or air, to propel projectiles (paintballs) out of the gun barrel. Paintballs typically comprise an admixture of approximately 92% ethylene glycol, 6% water and 2% titanium dioxide, encased in a fragile gelatin casing. The paintballs are designed to rupture upon impact to mark the target.
One typical problem with existing paintball guns is the tendency of balls to break while still in the gun, with its attendant mess and potential for clogging the gun. Ball breakage apparently is due to excessive bolt impact or gas pressure forces on the ball. Another problem is the difficulty of accessing the chamber, the barrel and the bolt of the gun in order to clean them. Yet another problem is inaccuracy due to inconsistent paintball velocity, apparently due to fluctuations in the pressure of the gas used to propel the balls.